Alec and his new bride have just been summoned to Rome to join the Centaurus, a transatlantic cruise ship en route from the Eastern Mediterranean to Fort Lauderdale. The dead body of the ship’s doctor was found in the Renaissance Art Gallery. She was not only nude, but also covered in bronze paint and strangled with picture-hanging wire.

Any one of Dr. Priestley’s former associates at Calliope Pictures could have “performed” the deed. The motion picture company was filming the final scenes of The Crook and the Contessa, steps away from the art gallery.

Was her killer: Sydney Clayton, the movie’s ego-driven directorZita Mancini, the distressed starletPeter Grant, the handsome lead actor and ladies’ manKate Street, the aging script supervisor, or Paul Valentine, the addicted prop master?

Among the crew:John Morse, the ship’s captain gave Priestley a wide berthJudith Green, the physician’s assistant called her a cold-hearted snake, and Benjamin Tucker, the chief of security felt anything but secure in her presence.

Alec has everything he needs to solve the case—single-malt whisky, his trusty pipe, and songs from the silver screen to help him decipher clues, describe his suspects, and name the killer.

Join Alec as he crosses the pond with murder on his mind and a song in his heart.